NoveLight ™
“Did you say ‘gate’? It certainly suits the word... with that mess.”
“…I didn’t realize it until we arrived, but now I think I understand what it means. Is that just my feeling?”
“So, you want us to break through that? How?”
“Well, that’s something we’ll figure out as we go.”
Today, the sky was filled with the smoke rising from unmanned drones or the heavy machinery deployed by Icarus, which was on fire.
Even from the initial insertion point, 4 km behind the frontlines and key battle areas, sounds of explosions and firing could be heard. Occasionally, the sound of our artillery shells flying in arcs hit the enemy shields, and enemy drones exploded into pieces, with explosives raining down on the battlefield.
The third gate. Alternatively, this was where Icarus and Artemis’ forces were clashing. This was not only the pivotal point of battle, but it was also the site of the most massive scale of fighting.
Both sides combined had approximately 15,000 soldiers. A division-level force was fighting in a relatively small area, no larger than a few football fields, throwing everything they had into this battle.
No, maybe calling it a “bet” is wrong. Strictly speaking, Artemis was the one taking the major losses.
Looking at this from the game perspective, it didn’t matter much whether this situation continued or not.
In fact, this was a large-scale battle within a Dark Zone incursion, which was quite popular. For users who weren’t particularly interested in completing missions or incursions but just wanted to mindlessly take down enemy humanoids, this type of scenario was something they would prefer to last.
But unfortunately, in the game world, the ultimate goal of this incursion wasn’t to just engage in such content. The real objective was to slap the stubborn third team’s behind and bring them home. So, wasting time on these small side objectives wasn’t going to get us anywhere.
For that reason, instead of charging directly to the frontlines, we headed toward the command center.
The staff quickly acknowledged our arrival and greeted us, and we responded lightly while analyzing the situation on the screen.
“Information gathering is progressing exactly as expected. We can’t carelessly deploy reconnaissance drones, so we’ll rely on ground-based remote cameras for visual data. However, with the directional EMP, it’s going to be tough.”
“That’s right. The standoff is still ongoing, and considering the current pace, it looks like it will take about 12 days to break through the third gate. Which means…”
“We can’t meet the timetable.”
While considering what should be destroyed and in what order, we also focused on how to achieve those goals.
This was a full-scale destruction mission. There were no allies to rescue, no vital intel to extract, and no key targets to save. This made it the worst scenario for stealth infiltration, especially since the enemy didn’t even fear our forces.
However, no one was backing down from the mission.
The conclusion was clear.
“Looks like we’ll be doing a feint operation again.”
“…A feint operation, huh? Are you planning to infiltrate the enemy’s lines while they’re distracted by the railgun like last time?”
“I’ve considered that, but as someone pointed out last time… we did a huge job tricking them, so I think the enemy’s on to us. It probably won’t work this time if we do the same thing.”
As the team thought deeply about how to break through the third gate, the answer was right there in my words: “If doing it the old way doesn’t work, then we’ll just twist it even more.”
The enemy’s defensive line was solid, and their sensors had a much longer detection range. But, considering that we now had many more tricks up our sleeve, there was plenty of room to adapt and fit in new strategies.
For instance...
“With Dagger Team and Laser Team’s remote-controlled units, combined with artillery, air strikes, and railgun support, we might be able to send a few people through the gate.”
“…Is that so?”
“Actually, because the enemy relies on sensors, we can disrupt them with external factors. While they’ll still be prepared, a small malfunction in the complex circuits could make a big difference.”
“So, we just need to listen carefully to your plan from here on, right?”
“You guys are getting way too perceptive these days.”
It was intense.
After Dice playfully pushed for a quicker briefing, I started explaining the situation and the plan ahead in a separate briefing room.
“First, the first target we need to destroy is the enemy’s shield generator. We don’t need to take down the power grid or anything, just destroying the generator will be enough. Cato and I will handle that.”
“WHAT?!”
“Calm down. There’s a reason for it.”
Normally, Olivia would have been the one to go with me for a smoother operation, but she was quite busy with preparations for next year’s S/S, so she couldn’t make it.
Occasionally, Olivia joined us for incursions, but we couldn’t do this every time. But that’s not important now. The reason I was infiltrating with Cato instead of Harmony or Dice was clear.
I pointed to a section of the map, measuring the distance.
It was clear that Cato and I had a good grasp of what we needed to do.
“Wait. Sniper support?”
“You’re thinking back to Hawaii, right?”
“No, not exactly. But the experience from back then will definitely help us a lot this time.”
Sniping distance: around 800 meters.
Fortunately, sniping in this game was far easier than when we did it in Hawaii. The basic idea was the same, but Icarus gear calculated the sniper position for us. While there were more restrictions in PVP, this made things a lot easier for an incursion.
With sniper turrets, ballistic calculators, and other gear, Harmony and Dice would make it easier for Cato and me to infiltrate.
However, sending only those two wouldn’t last long, so we had to mix in some indirect support, like constant artillery bombardment or massive troop deployment to distract the enemy.
“And it’s not just about that. We also need to hit them hard. Remember the escort mission we succeeded in after hours of fighting? It’s time to see what effect the supplies we brought can have.”
“Hmm, I get the idea.”
“So, I’ll carry the explosives, and you’ll handle sniper support. Right? What if we can’t get in?”
“We’ll switch to a conventional demolition operation if we get stuck.”
Cato’s expression changed subtly as he understood the plan. Meanwhile, I sent a list of needed resources to the supply depot.
“Let’s get ready. We’ll aim to finish this today.”
The plan was set. Now, it was time to hurry and execute.
"Arrived near the gate. Stealth and optical camouflage are working perfectly."
"Everything's crawling with enemies. We've deployed twenty remote-controlled units, so we should be able to make some progress and head back with results."
"Results? When have we ever cared about that?"
"...HQ, this is Dagger Team. Noise suppression completed. We'll await the signal."
Meanwhile, about 10 km south of the third gate, a barrier was set up.
Unlike before, twenty remote-controlled units, which looked almost like robots, were waiting for deployment.
"Ugh…"
"...What kind of strange noise are you making?"
Cato had started making strange noises from the get-go.
The sky was clear, and the sun shone brightly, but the usual scene of a peaceful, pleasant day had taken a turn. Below, the hellscape was unfolding. Hundreds of players and enemy humanoids were fighting in a chaotic battle. It almost looked like a bunch of ants fighting each other.
It wasn't so much a battle between operators, more like a massive brawl in operator suits. But considering that this mission to take down the gate was based on a large-scale battlefield rush mode, it wasn’t really surprising. After all, that’s what this situation was designed for.
But today, at least a few of us wouldn’t be part of that mindless chaos.
"...Sniper position reached. This is a good spot. There's enough cover with the shrubs and trees, and we still have a clear line of sight. We should be safe here from detection."
"Let’s leave most of the work to Cato and me. Until then, focus on marking enemy positions. If you get too distracted with every enemy popping up, we’ll be detected before we even get in."
"Understood. We’ll give it our best shot."
This felt like sneaking into a grand ballroom decorated with explosives, fire, and gunpowder smoke.
Cato, carrying tens of kilograms of explosives, set the pace for this infiltration. Fortunately, the optical camouflage worked better the slower we moved, which allowed us to blend into the terrain around us.
As we cautiously moved forward, there were three key routes we had to pass. The first one was approaching.
"Three, two, one. Beginning artillery bombardment."
"Thirty seconds to impact. I'll mark any enemies near the area who are impossible to bypass. If they can’t be avoided, we’ll be stuck."
"Understood."
Boom! The first explosion shook the air as artillery shells hit the enemy's shields. At the same time, we heard the sound of a humanoid’s head exploding, as one of the enemies patrolling the area was taken out. Cato and I immediately moved toward our designated checkpoint.
Even in the middle of all this, our shooting didn't stop.
"I’ll handle the left. You cover the right."
"Got it!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sound of small-caliber bullets echoed. The combination of subsonic rounds and silencers made sure the shots were quiet, and with the artillery hitting the shields, Artemis’ AI was too busy recalculating priorities to notice us.
I glanced at Cato. To my surprise, he quickly dispatched the three enemies that appeared on the right. It seemed like all his training had paid off.
Unfortunately, the viewers missed all of that, and they were still busy typing their own comments.
"...Ah, ah. U-Jin, there's an armored vehicle approaching your route. Looks like a patrol."
"I saw it too. Stay ready in case we need backup."
"Now that they're patrolling, I'm not sure how this will go, but let’s give it a try."
Creeeak!
A sharp sound echoed as an armored vehicle stopped a few dozen meters ahead of us. Eight humanoid robots quickly disembarked, beginning to patrol the area.
On our UI, the route the armored vehicle had taken appeared, and fortunately, it didn’t come our way. However, it seemed to be heading toward a location where the enemy's defenses had just weakened.
What should we do? As I was thinking that, Cato suddenly spoke up.
"U-Jin, I think we can just wipe them all out and keep going. They’re coming from a direction we don’t need to infiltrate, and if we take them down, the enemy won’t know where we’re headed."
"Hmm."
That was a sharp suggestion.
However, to make that plan work, a few more preparations were needed. I quickly sent coordinates to the artillery to make sure it would fire with some distraction to cover our operation.
The shields wouldn’t activate unless we were directly hitting the Artemis gate.
The artillery was ready, and with the confirmation signal, the blast echoed through the comms.
A few seconds later, another explosion rocked the ground.
Boom!
The explosion erupted near the armored vehicle. At that same moment, Cato and I raised our weapons, locking on to our targets, and quickly began firing.
Cato and I each fired four shots. In an instant, eight humanoid enemies dropped to the ground, their heads shattered.
At the same time, Cato launched a penetrating thermite sticky bomb near the armored vehicle's turret, and flames erupted from the cannon.
As if responding to this, a shell came flying in and hit the ground with a loud crash.
With a small smile, I added:
"We’re getting pretty good at this."
“...Is that so? Well, let’s just keep moving. No time to waste.”
"Let’s keep going."
We were getting closer to the objective. The surroundings were a mess of dust, explosions, and smoke, but the sky was still remarkably clear.
The mission to break through the gate had begun.